(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of securing a catheter body to a human skin for a long period of time.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
An intravenous catheter (to be referred to hereinafter as an IVH catheter) is widely used for high calorie fluid therapy. Other various catheters have been also used for long-term indwelling in human body (e.g., in a vein).
A distal portion of the IVH catheter or the like is inserted into a vein by using, for example, the hollow needle method or the cut-down method. The part of the catheter outside of the body needs to be secured in place, to avoid being accidently moved. When such a catheter is indwelled in the body, a sepsis may occur as a complication. It is said that the cause of the sepsis is bacteria entering the body from the outside of the catheter, and that the rate of occurrence of the sepsis increases when the catheter is not secured firmly to the body.
Conventional methods of securing the catheter are: securing the part of the catheter outside of the body by using surgical tape; forming a subcutaneous tunnel and inserting the catheter with a Dacron cuff thereinto; and securing in place by suturing, with a ligature, the portion of the catheter outside of the body in the skin. In the method using the surgical tape, the catheter can still be easily moved, and therefore this method is not reliable. In the method of forming the subcutaneous tunnel, the catheter can be secured firmly in place. However, this operation is too complicated to be widely employed. Since a catheter of this type, e.g., an IVH catheter is normally indwelled for one or two weeks, the method of suturing the catheter in the skin by means of a ligature is widely employed as an easy-to-perform and reliable method.
However, using this method, the catheter may be broken at the portion tied by the ligature, or the cavity of the catheter may become so narrowed that a transfusion liquid cannot be supplied into the catheter at a predetermined flow rate.